the 81 maico 490 was supposed to be the best, and i've been wanting to get one for along time, but i heard the 83 had a top end of around 112mph. so has anyone heard if it really goes that fast. it was supposed to be for desert racing and was geared 16/48. and if it does go that fast does anyone know if you can gear the 81 to be just as good?

Hopefully the resident "Maico Man" sees this and you'll get the straight scoop. I'm no authority on Maico, but I do know the Sand Spider was the desert model. Doubt if it came geared stock to do 100+ though. H, where are you?!

The 81' 490 was known as the best Motocrosser & the "E" model was the enduro with a wide ratio transmission. I don't know what the top speed of the E model was.

The 83' Spider was the 4 speed Motocrosser & the Sand spider was the 5 speed big tank enduro/desert racer. I'm sure that you could gear one to hit over a 100mph, I just don't know much about them. I would have to do some checking with a few guy's to find out.

The 83 490 Sand Spider was built for one thing only and that one thing was flying across the desert at a high rate of speed while keeping the rider in the saddle and in control. We felt this bike would be good to test against because of it's 112-MPH top speed. The Sand Spider came with a 5 Speed Wide Ratio Transmission, 48 tooth Rear Sprocket and a 16 tooth Counter Shaft Sprocket. i got this from Opferman Motors